Night Owl
by SapphireStar98
Summary: When Kaguya finds out Haken hasn't been sleeping well for the past few days, she tries to help him out. Fluff ensues.


**An idea I had that wouldn't disappear spurred me to write this. It was fun.**

 **Takes place after the events of Endless Frontier (not involving anything EXCEED-related, so don't worry), so a spoiler warning seems necessary.**

* * *

The night sky stretched far beyond Kaguya's vision as the full moon's light shone almost ethereally bright among all the stars. Although she loved looking up at the sky from the view that Taketori Castle granted her back home, especially on a night like this, seeing the same view from inside the Zeit Krokodil was a nice change of scenery she could appreciate.

Finally having some down time for a day or two from the stresses of running a country as large as Kagura Amahara proved to be difficult to get, especially with the most recent event being the complete reformation of the Endless Frontier. Kaguya took almost every opportunity she was fortunate enough to get to go visit Suzuka, when she wasn't too busy herself, or her friends among the Zeit. Being able to see the sights on the way in a brave new world with the sun usually setting in the corner of her vision was always something she looked forward to.

Being greeted by Lee, Marion, Aschen, and Haken as soon as she walked on board was always a nice distraction from her busy life. Haken brought a smile to her face every time she locked eyes with him, and tonight would of been no different; that is, it would've been if he was there to greet her.

"U-Um…" Kaguya piped up, glancing around for any sign of him as she stopped stargazing. Noticing a familiar green-haired android walk by her, she spoke up again. "Aschen, have you, um…have you seen Haken anywhere? I still haven't been able to find him…of course, I didn't look very hard, but still…"

"That doesn't surprise me, knowing it's you," she replied with her usual deadpan tone. Turning to face the princess slightly, she added, "I think I saw him head out to the top deck, if you really want to see him that badly."

"Heh. Go easy on her, alright, Aschen?" Lee spoke up, overhearing their short conversation and walking closer to them as a result. "Anyways…I don't think he's been sleeping too well lately, Kaguya," he mentioned; seeing the princess' sudden ice-cold gaze froze him to the spot for a moment before he continued. "Uh…are you alright?"

Keeping her gaze fixed on Lee, Kaguya murmured, "For how long?"

"I'm not too sure," Lee said after a moment's hesitation. "A few days, probably. All I remember him saying anything about it was in some passing comment or another…"

"Seems typical of the captain at this point, don't you think?" Aschen added, heading over to the bounty board to pore over its contents.

Lee nodded, turning his gaze toward the princess again. "Yeah, I guess so. Usually, I wouldn't look too deep into the issue, since he tends to keep to himself about things like this, but…maybe you should go find him and check on him, just in case."

"Got it!" she said, trying to hide her worry behind her usual enthusiasm and a slight wave as she strode forward.

"Don't go starting any international incidents, you two," Aschen called to her as she left with her back still turned away.

In her best attempt to ignore the running joke, Kaguya quickly made her way towards the stairs, trying not to let her embarrassed blush become noticed by anyone. Try as she might to not let Lee's info get the better of her, she realized worry was slowly gnawing at her brain as she made her way to where Haken was.

* * *

Quiet as a mouse, Kaguya slowly opened the door of the top deck with a nice, gentle breeze greeting her. Noticing a figure lying on their back on a quilt further out, she couldn't help but crack a smile as she made her way fully through the door and out onto the deck herself. Moving in close to investigate, even though she was already well aware of who it was, Kaguya eyed a familiar coat, folded and set aside.

From what she could gather after hovering around him for a few seconds, Haken was fast asleep. With an all-too familiar hat obscuring his eyes and his hands crossed behind him, she felt a smile creep up on her face again just from a simple glance. Trying not to let a giggle escape her lips, Kaguya took a seat aside him, looking up at the sky again to see the full moon shining bright among a sea of stars.

After a few moments of wondering if he really was asleep or not, curiosity finally got the better of her. Crawling near to hover over him a little, Kaguya gingerly lifted the brim of his hat.

She finally let out a light laugh when Haken stared back with one tired, blue eye opened, accompanied by a warm smile of his own.

"Hey there, stranger," Kaguya quietly said amidst failed attempts to stifle her giggling. "Sorry to wake you, if I did."

"I don't really mind when it's you, y'know?" Haken mentioned, sitting himself up and laying his hat on top of his longcoat nearby. "Anyways, I could say the same thing to you, Princess. I haven't seen you around too much lately, so…what kind of royal business have you been up to?"

"Dealing with royal pains in the ass," Kaguya mumbled, looking down at her shoes with a sigh as she recounted being asked at least several times by numerous castle staff about her pilgrimage, a day after she returned, in one way or another. There was no way in hell she was telling anyone about what transpired before she made her way home, that much was for certain.

"Didn't quite catch that," Haken playfully said, leaning in slightly closer with a smug grin.

Kaguya just smiled innocently. "The usual."

"Heh…kinda figured. What with everything that happened recently…"

Hearing him trail off, they both let things fall quiet for a moment. As Kaguya looked up at the sky once again, training her eye on the moon and all its intricacies, she let her mind wander a bit.

"The sky really is beautiful tonight." Kaguya finally broke the silence that had taken hold between them, never breaking her gaze away from the sky. "To think, we would've probably lost all this because of the Einst…" she added under her breath.

"I know it doesn't sound like me to dwell on the past, but…" Haken began when he heard what she said, trailing off again when Kaguya looked him dead in the eyes, her usual enthusiasm replaced by worry and a determined gaze that Haken couldn't keep his eyes off of.

"That's one of the reasons why I came up here in the first place," she said, worry creeping it's way into her tone of voice as much as she didn't want it to. "Lee…he had said that you haven't been sleeping very well lately, so…um, what were you going to say before?" Kaguya asked, noticing Haken looking up at the sky for a moment as she spoke.

"Not too surprised he would mention that, to be honest," Haken said, sighing. Silence lingered longer that Kaguya would've liked. "Speaking of the Einst…I was just thinking about what would've happened if we didn't do anything. For a day or two, actually, as much as I hate to admit it," he said, punctuated by quiet laughter that failed to do much of anything aside from making Kaguya fret more.

A pause lent Kaguya precious seconds to let his words sink in, feeling dread slowly creep into her thoughts. Letting worry gnaw at her brain again, she could've sworn she saw a tear in the corner of his eye get quickly wiped away before he continued.

Haken sighed again. "Lets just say that things would be a lot different around here if we were too late to pick you up."

Kaguya took a deep breath as the weight of Haken's words felt not too unlike a knife stabbed deep in her heart. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as everything finally clicked into place; it was almost too difficult to believe. Everything that was on his mind poured out in a single sentence like that was almost too much for her to handle, especially seeing someone like Haken Browning, of all people, sound and look as distraught as he did.

Words seemed to fail her as all she could think of doing was moving closer, doing so until she sat right in front of him. As Haken shot her a warm smile, no doubt in order to cheer her up, Kaguya couldn't help but smile back as she felt tears slowly run down her cheeks. Locking determined, teary eyes with the man she loved and noticing every little trace of worry and exhaustion in them, Kaguya gently wrapped her arms around him in an embrace she thought they could both use. Burying her head in his chest as she tried not to let her muffled cries be heard ended up being in vain.

Haken pulled her in closer as all her efforts failed, planting a kiss on the top of her head while rubbing her back. Body wracked with sobs, Kaguya could barely keep repeating apologies without crying harder.

"Damn it…I'm sorry, Kaguya. I didn't mean to make you cry from all this," Haken whispered, letting her cry for as long as she needed to. It must of felt like an eternity to him; that only made the knife twist deeper. "I'm really sorry."

"I…I'm sorry too, Haken," she responded between sniffles as she eventually calmed herself down to a reasonable enough degree, looking up into his eyes only to realize he had shed a few tears of his own.

Haken smiled warmly again, gently cupping Kaguya's chin in his hand. "Don't be, Princess," he said, quiet and smooth, before planting a soft kiss on her lips.

Time seemingly stood still around them when their lips met, blissful tranquility reigning for a few moments before they eventually parted, both participants backing away slightly with bright red cheeks and massive smiles on their faces.

"...You've gotten better," Haken mentioned, chuckling a little when Kaguya looked down at her legs with bright red cheeks.

"Smooth," she murmured, locking eyes with him with a massive smile on her face a few seconds later.

As Kaguya slowly regained her composure from the moments before, her eyes slowly drifted back up to the night sky, focusing solely on the moon as she tried to think of anything to say to diffuse the rather awkward silence that fell between them. Finally, something came to mind. It took all of her willpower to not crack up beforehand.

"Not even the moon's as beautiful as you, isn't it?" She said under her breath, just loud enough so that Haken overheard her, without trying to bust a gut in the process.

The look he shot her way in response was a nice mix of happiness and confusion, causing Kaguya to burst out laughing.

"Heh…sounds like something I would say," he murmured before laughing a little himself.

Kaguya slowly regained her composure for a second time between fits of laughter, looking him straight in the eyes as she spoke. "I know! That's why I said it in the first place!"

"Nice."

After getting through her last fit of laughter, Kaguya breathed a content sigh. "So, um…Haken?"

"What's up?"

"I kinda feel bad that I'm keeping you up, especially, since…well, you've been having trouble sleeping…I-I mean, that's why I came up here after Lee had said something, after all."

"It's no big deal, Princess," Haken nonchalantly replied, eventually leaning back into the same position she found him in to begin with. "Honestly, I'm just glad we're able to see each other at all. Moments like this…"

"They don't happen too often, do they?" Kaguya interjected, slowly leaning down on her back aside of him.

"Pretty much," Haken mentioned, his tired, husky whisper of a voice becoming more pronounced as time passed. "Hell, maybe one of these days, if we're both not too busy, I could head out to Kagura Amahara to pay you a visit."

Kaguya felt her face heat up again despite her efforts to stay calm. "I…I wouldn't mind if you did, I-I mean…I miss you. A lot." she stammered, turning herself to face away from Haken with a fierce blush that consumed her face.

"Can't really blame you for that, Princess. I've been missing you a lot too, if the past few days gave anyone a hint," Haken murmured, just as another cool breeze blew across the deck.

Kaguya shivered despite the warmth coursing through her body from moments prior, cursing herself out for not wearing something to protect from the night's usual chill. Feeling something get draped over her shivering body caused her to sit up a little to find out what it was. She let out a giggle when she realized Haken elected to cover her with his coat to shield from the cold, laying back down moments later to face him.

"Couldn't exactly sit here and let you freeze, now could I?" he murmured, relaxing again onto his back with moonlight reflected in his tired eyes, as he let out a chuckle at Kaguya's reddened face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just…you look even cuter when you're flustered like that, you know?"

Fighting back laughter of her own, Kaguya managed to say, "Well, you're even cuter when you're sleepy, so…"

"More like dead tired, but…whatever," he responded, turning to face Kaguya before gently wrapping an arm around her waist, much to the princess' surprise.

"Sorry for keeping you awake, Haken," Kaguya whispered, looking straight into Haken's sleepy, distant gaze with a warm smile.

"There's no need to apologize, Princess," he whispered, his quiet, husky voice a testament to just how tired he was. "I probably shouldn't be keeping you up, either, to be honest."

Kaguya giggled a little despite herself. Wrapping her arm around him, she pulled herself closer, whispering, "It's okay…I don't mind at all."

As the words near-silently left her mouth, she planted a gentle kiss on Haken's lips. The same feeling of tranquility passed over them both again as the moment of love and passion lingered for what felt like an eternity. Lips slowly parting with similar smiles and bright red on both of their faces brought about quiet laughter for a few moments as their eyes slowly fixed on the night sky when it eventually died down.

"...You've gotten better yourself," Kaguya murmured, chuckling a little when she noticed Haken's quickly-reddening face.

Placing an arm behind her back, Haken said, "This might be the most peaceful night I've had lately."

"I'm really happy I was able to help out with that, at least," Kaguya responded, turning to place her hand on Haken's chest as she slowly closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting the feeling of his heartbeat resonate within her.

"Yeah, you really did…" he quietly said, trailing off as his eyes slowly shut. "Might be the best night of sleep I've had in a little while, too...thanks, Kaguya…"

"You're welcome...but, I guess we'll just have to see if you're right then, won't we?" she said in a hushed tone.

A warm smile creeped up on her face when she didn't get a response, letting his slowly steadying heartbeat and gentle breaths clue her in that he'd more than likely be right once morning rolled around. A faint giggle escaped her lips as she let the moon's light softly bathe them both; she swore to herself that she saw a shooting star tear through the night sky right before she closed her eyes, letting the gentle rise and fall of Haken's chest and his steady, rhythmic heartbeat help her eventually join him in the soft embrace of sleep.

* * *

 **It seems kind of weird, in hindsight, to be writing super-fluffy, self-indulgent fanfiction for a game that's almost ten years old. Honestly, though, I don't care. I had a lot of fun writing this (even if writing any kind of romance is rather out of my comfort zone), and I hope anybody who stumbles across this had fun reading it, too!**

 **Constructive criticism is always appreciated!**


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